A Caged Bird
by Mr. DeathDie
Summary: Iruka would do anything to protect his students and he would never hesitate to give up his life for any one of them, but he would rather be dead than held captive. It only makes it worse to know there's an undercover Konoha ninja there who can't even help him. Yes, he'd rather be dead. Kakairu
1. Chapter 1: A Forest Bird

Title: A Caged Bird

Series: Naruto

Pairing: Kakashi/Iruka

Warnings: Rating M; Violence, language, sex, non-con, m-preg (sort of), angst

Authors Note: 

_So, this is sort of my first Naruto fanfic, and the first one I've ever put online. Yay, me~_

_Alright, so I thought I should mention this but I don't want to give too much away to the plot of the story. While I warned there's m-preg, the story does not revolve around the happiness of having a child. I've seen a lot of stories like that, where a guy suddenly finds himself pregnant, falls in love with "daddy" (if he isn't already), and then they live a happy life expecting their child. This story isn't really like that. And I've said it's m-preg, but it isn't exactly. I don't know how to put it without giving a lot away, but just know that if you have a problem with a "henged-female" guy or if you want a super happy sappy romance, this story just might not be what you're looking for. But if it is, and you love angst as much as I do, then I hope you can enjoy it. _

_(oh, and also, there will be OC's in this, but I'll try not to elaborate on them too much and keep the attention on Kakashi and Iruka. I know some people don't like OC's, but they're sort of necessary at the moment…)_

_Disclaimer: I forgot to add this the first time. I don't own it._

* * *

_A forest bird never wants a cage.  
__- __Henrik Ibsen_

**Chapter 1: A Forest Bird**

"And _that_ is how to do the greatest jutsu move of all time!"

A chorus of claps filled the air along with the high-pitched, happy chatter of three highly impressed children.

"Wow, boss, that was way cool! Teach me that move!" Konohamaru chirped, bouncing on the heels of his feet. Moegi and Udon enthusiastically nodded their heads in agreement, broad smiles spread across their young faces.

Naruto let out a loud bark of laughter and scratched wildly at the back of his blonde hair, grinning smugly. "I think the Rasengan is a little too advanced for little kids like you! Only awesome grown-ups like me can manage to do anything this cool. And even being as awesome as I am it took a lot of hard work!"

At the looks of disappointment, Naruto quickly glanced around and pointed at a small boulder to his right. He shot another cheeky grin at the kids. "How 'bout I blow some more stuff up with my Rasengan, then I'll show you some moves Pervy-Sage taught me?" He was answered with loud, excited cheers and the happy group ran to blast holes into more unsuspecting objects.

This was way better than going to class. A million times better. Sure, Iruka-sensei would be really angry and would yell at them for it, but they really wanted to spend time with Naruto and it wasn't like they didn't skip class all the time anyway. Their favorite prankster left a few months ago to train with Jiraiya-sama and was only in the village visiting for a few days. Between all the time he spent with his old friends and old team and Iruka-sensei, he barely had time to play with them anymore. They weren't going to waste precious time sitting in a boring classroom listening to their sensei's boring lectures when they could follow Naruto around instead. Besides, Naruto was showing them tons of cool stuff, so they were probably learning more with him anyway.

Naruto even took them outside of the village and showed them the best way to sneak past the gate guards. None of them had ever been outside the village before –the grown up's probably thought they were too little or something, the jerks – and it was so totally fun and adventurous and new. They were perfectly safe with someone as cool and strong as Naruto and Iruka-sensei would spend all his time looking for them inside the village walls rather than outside of them. Going outside of the village walls turned out to be a great idea.

It was a good hour more of Naruto's showing off when they were finally found by the one person they were trying to avoid.

Instead of the expected loud, booming voice and angry stomps in their direction, all four of them shrieked and nearly jumped out of their skin at the sudden appearance of Iruka-sensei, who had snuck up on them without making even a single sound. Even without the usual deafening bellow, the unadulterated rage could be clearly read on his face and in his stance. He was more than a little pissed.

"Why are you outside of the village walls?" Iruka-sensei's voice came out in a nearly quiet hiss, glaring at each of the children for several terrifying seconds before setting his eyes on Naruto for answers. In response the blonde teen let out a nervous chuckle and rubbed at the back of his head, his facial expression a little guilty.

"Well, I wanted to show these guys some cool stuff and thought it would be cooler out here," Naruto said, his eyes squinted shut in thought. "I'm here to keep them safe and I've been out here before so it isn't a big deal."

Iruka-sensei repeated "isn't a big deal" several times under his breath in exasperation and indignation, as if he was trying to wrap his head around how ridiculous that statement was. The sound of their sensei grinding his teeth together in frustration was unreasonably loud as they waited for the explosion. They watched him shut his eyes and pinch the bridge of his nose in the way he often did when he was trying to calm himself down. From the sporadic twitch of his left eyebrow, it didn't seem to be working. Naruto was fidgeting where he stood, trying to act like he wasn't nervous even though it was obvious he was. Konohamaru was, like Naruto, trying to act 'cool' and unbothered by Iruka-sensei's appearance but his quivering legs gave away his nerves. Moegi and Udon were cowering together behind the other two, fearing whatever hell they brought upon themselves by skipping class today. A quiet Iruka-sensei was a million times more threatening than a yelling one.

Finally Iruka-sensei let out an irritated breath and planted his hands on his hips, opening his eyes to glower at the young blonde. "You know the rules, Naruto, and you deliberately broke them. Pre-genin are not, under any circumstance, allowed to leave the village without proper supervision. _Genin_ are not allowed to leave the village without proper supervision. There is a reason the training grounds are within the village walls and if you wanted to show off, you should have went there. I'm taking you back. Now. You can explain why you were out here to the Hokage."

Naruto finally snapped out of his nervous twitching and shot Iruka-sensei an irritated look before stubbornly turning his head away with a pout. "I'm not afraid of that old granny."

Iruka-sensei didn't respond. He ushered the children to walk in front of him as he guided them back to the village. Naruto reluctantly followed, shooting a glance at his former sensei. "How did you find us, anyway? I thought we were far enough you wouldn't be able to."

Iruka-sensei's teeth were still clenched tight in obvious agitation. "I could hear you a mile away."

Naruto sniffed loudly and muttered something under his breath. His eyes lit up after a few seconds and he grinned at Iruka-sensei. "Hey, guess what? We found this really cool thing earlier. I don't know what it was, but it was slimy and sticky and –"

"No talking," Iruka-sensei ground out in a hard voice. Naruto gave him a slightly hurt look and opened his mouth to reply, but Iruka-sensei harshly interrupted him. "We're walking in silence until we reach the village. Not another word." Naruto scowled and ground his teeth together. When would Iruka-sensei start treating him like an equal and stop treating him like a child? He crossed his arms moodily over his chest and started stomping his feet as he walked, his irritation increasing as Iruka-sensei quickly berated him for that as well.

The small group walked in silence. Every time someone tried to start a conversation Iruka-sensei would instantly shush them. The three boys would grumble quietly to themselves (more like Naruto would grumble, Konohamaru would follow his lead, and Udon would make small noises of agreement), claiming it was just Iruka-sensei being a mean, old, stuck-up teacher.

'Mean' wasn't exactly what Moegi thought of to describe her teacher at the moment, but she didn't know what word would be more appropriate. Moegi, unlike her friends, noticed the oddness in her sensei's behavior. Most people wouldn't have pegged her as a perceptive individual because of the unsubtle and extreme behavior of her best friends, but she was rather good at picking up details when she felt the need to pay attention to them. Plus, Iruka-sensei wasn't very good at hiding his emotions anyway, so it wasn't hard to see the changes if you were looking.

She could see the slight tension in his muscles. His posture was always good, but at the moment it was almost unnaturally rigid. His pace was slightly quicker than it usually was. His hands were discreetly closer to his weapons pouch. He wouldn't allow the children to wander away from his vision and if they tried he herded them back in place directly in front of him. His eyes never strayed from them but the expression on his face was one of intense concentration, as if his attention was focused entirely on something else. Like a spring in a trap, his body was tensed and ready to snap into action if need be. He seemed anxious, as if waiting for something. It was similar to how he acted when the village was attacked. Did he think they were going to be attacked out here?

Suddenly, leaving the safety of the village seemed to have been a very bad idea.

Moegi's fingers curled into his green flak vest, clinging to him for a sense of security. The thought that Iruka-sensei was worried terrified her.

He blinked down at her, his concentration momentarily broken from whatever it was he was concentrating on, and gave her a reassuring smile, laying a hand gently on her head. It was a look that said 'don't worry, I'll protect you' and it calmed her immensely. Iruka-sensei was here. He would never let anything happen to them. Even though she felt safer, Moegi continued to keep a hand gripped onto his vest. Iruka-sensei continued to remain slightly stiff but the further they walked in the direction of the village, the more he started to relax.

Everything changed so quickly several minutes later.

Iruka-sensei tensed like an agitated cat, the hairs on the back of his neck rising and his hands already gripping at kunai in his weapons pouch before Moegi had a chance to register the abrupt change. Her hand was suddenly no longer clinging to his vest and she was now behind him. The three young children found themselves instantly positioned between their sensei and a confused Naruto, who was staring at Iruka-sensei's back but unable to comprehend the meaning behind the sudden change.

Naruto took a step forward and cocked his head to the side curiously. "What's wrong, Sensei?"

Iruka-sensei remained silent for several seconds before speaking in an authoritative tone, his eyes never straying from the thick forest in front of him. "Naruto, listen to me very closely. No matter what happens, our number one priority is the safety of the children. Your job is to get them to the village as quickly as possible. Alright?"

Naruto was instantly alert at that, his head turning left and right quickly. His gaze searched through the trees. "What is it? Is there someone out there? I'll kick their ass!"

"You won't. Your job is to get to the village. Avoid conflict if you can."

Naruto bristled. "No way! I never run from a fight!"

"This isn't up for debate, Naruto," Iruka-sensei snapped. He addressed the three children behind him without turning around. "Konohamaru, Moegi, Udon. You three are _not_ to attempt to fight, at all, do I make myself clear? Your one and only job is to run. Stay close to Naruto; he'll get you there safely."

Now it was Konohamaru's turn to bristle, his face set in the same irritated expression Naruto was wearing. He puffed out his chest and stuck his chin high in the air. "I don't run away, either!"

"Do you think this is some sort of game?" Iruka-sensei roared, outraged at their disobedience. "There is no shame in fleeing if it means you get to keep your life. Forget your pride and stop acting like brats!"

A throaty chuckle drifted over the area from somewhere in the trees directly in front of them, but they were too concealed to find out where exactly. Iruka-sensei crouched further in his defensive stance.

"How cute," said a deep, obviously male voice. "A teacher and his bratty little students. Not much of a challenge, though."

A raspy laugh joined the first voice. "More like a clucking mother hen and her peeping chicks." They both laughed, the sound reverberating through the trees. It made the children uneasy. Konohamaru tried to keep up the courageous façade, but his knees were starting to shake slightly. Moegi had her thin arms curled around the arms of her two friends for comfort and Udon couldn't stop the continuous downpour of nervous snot from dribbling out of his nose, despite his loud sniffling attempts. They subconsciously moved closer together behind Iruka-sensei, who stood like a solid wall separating them from the threat.

Iruka-sensei's grip on his kunai tightened. "We are Konoha ninja and you are on Konoha land. Show yourselves and state your business," he demanded.

A thoughtful hum could be heard before one of the voices let out an amused snort. "I don't think you're in a position to demand, Mother Hen."

Naruto released an enraged yell, stomping several steps forward and snapping a pointed finger accusingly in the direction the voices were coming from. "Yo, jerks! Why don't you come down here and fight like real men, you cowards! Afraid to get your ass handed to you!?"

"Naruto!" Iruka-sensei hissed loudly, a threat clear in his tone of voice.

"I think he's right," said a third voice, almost too quiet to hear. "We should collect what we came for."

A vicious grin spread across Naruto's face, his blue eyes burning with excitement. "Come on down here then, assholes."

"Naruto!" He flinched at the vicious bark, Iruka-sensei's anger unmistakable in the tense air around them. "What the hell did I just say the plan was!?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes and ground his teeth, turning fully to stare at the seething man. His face was a mixture of emotions; outrage and annoyance at the thought of Iruka-sensei thinking he couldn't beat them and the small amount of reluctance because he wanted to do whatever Iruka-sensei asked him to. "When will you stop treating me like a little kid? I can fight! That's what you were gonna do, right? Fight them while we got away? I'm strong, Iruka-sensei. Stop underestimating me and let me help!" His anger and irritation started to diminish at the look of desperation he could see underneath Iruka-sensei's rage.

"I'm giving you the more important job, you idiot! Protecting these children is more important than your ego!" He paused to inhale a deep breath, trying and failing to relax himself. "I trust you to get them back safe. I'll be right behind you. Please, Naruto, don't fight me on this." Naruto stared for several more seconds before nodding reluctantly. He trusted Iruka-sensei. Even though he wanted to fight, to prove himself to these stupid ninja and to his favorite person in the world and his awesome little fan club, prove how strong he'd become…he'd do it Iruka-sensei's way.

A bored yawn was heard from the trees. "That was sweet. Really, it was. But I'm afraid none of you will be making it back anyway, so it was sort of pointless." A bulky man appeared from within the foliage, his team mates deciding to stay hidden for the moment. He looked as if he was utterly bored with the situation already. A pinky finger went up to his mouth, picking at his teeth. "You'd be better off just giving up."

Iruka-sensei quickly dropped his kunai back into his pouch and snapped his hands together, fingers quickly forming seals. Several puffs of smoke later, three shadow clones appeared, moving to further encircle the children. Naruto instantly followed his lead, creating several clones of his own. Iruka-sensei's eyes never left the man the moment he came into view, his face set into a vicious scowl. "I'll never let you lay a single finger on my students."

He shouted a quick "Go!" and they separated, Naruto leading the children towards the village gates with the clones following close behind. Their sensei stayed behind, body position ready for attack and fingers forming seals.

* * *

Iruka sped through the trees, the sound of his heart slamming against the confines of his chest loud in his ears. He could see Naruto and the children directly in front of him, running quickly on the forest floor. So far, they were safe.

The second he had told them to run, he felt the vague flicker of chakra in the trees where the enemy ninja had been. They had vanished, both the one he could see and the other two faceless voices still hidden in the foliage. Iruka had cursed vehemently and trailed after his students, high in the tree tops so he could watch the area for any attacks from a bird's eye view. The ninja were obviously skilled from their ability to conceal any noise made by their movement. Iruka realized this when the ninja had first appeared, despite his intent concentration on listening for any unfamiliar sounds in the area. And he had only caught their arrival before they spoke from the deliberate snap of a branch.

He had had a small hope that the ninja would try and kill him first. He may not be the strongest opponent or even the most interesting to fight, but he had been confident he could at least stall them enough for Naruto to get the small group to the village gates. Now it was more like a game of cat and mouse, his students running frantically from vicious prey hidden within the forest.

Iruka knew that part of the danger they were currently in was his fault, a rather large part of it. He was the adult here, he should have known better. And yet he still had made three vital mistakes.

The first was waiting until lunch to search for his wayward students, believing they were somewhere with Naruto while the boy was in the village. His mistake was assuming they were safe in the village, but knowing Naruto, he should have at least considered that the troublesome boy would break the rules. He just didn't think he would break _that_ rule. Naruto was still so young, still a genin, but Iruka had assumed he at least understood the dangers of any area outside of the village walls. He had been out there himself, fought enemy nin not even an hour's walk from the village according to the infamous "missing-nin from Mist" story the boy constantly bragged about. But, Iruka supposed, the very presence of Naruto's Jounin-sensei was enough to give the boy a sense of constant protection regardless of the situation. It was the very reason Jounin – high-level, experienced Jounin – were placed as genin squad leaders to begin with, and not Chuunin. It was the reason even simple escort missions were placed at minimum C-rank. Protecting yourself was simple; protecting others was much more difficult, especially if you intended to keep them alive and unharmed. It wasn't the same as fighting on a team where everyone could hold their own. Iruka feared Naruto didn't understand the difference.

Iruka's second mistake was not bringing backup as a safety precaution. He was more than a little ashamed of the Chuunin guards who had been duped by Naruto's ridiculous Sexy Jutsu, and the fact that they were so thoroughly distracted that they hadn't even notice children pass them by out of the village. He was even more ashamed of himself for racing out of the village without bothering to inform anyone. In his worry he even momentarily forget to remind himself he still had his "Academy weapon's pouch" on, which had a significantly smaller amount of weapons than he was comfortable with. But he hadn't thought of that at the moment. Ever since the attack during the Chuunin Exams, raids and assaults around Konoha had become more frequent and the security within Konohagakure was more severe than usual. The warning sent back to the village not long ago from an undercover Konoha ninja informing them of abductions by missing nin from Iwagakure, the hidden village by the Rocks, had only increased the paranoia. But the security had been increased _inside_ of the village walls, not out of them. All Iruka had cared about was finding Naruto and those children and making sure they were safe, every other thought and worry being pushed to the back of his mind. He should have thought how much trouble he would be in if there were enemy ninja out there.

His third mistake was not forcing the group into a run back to the village the moment he found them. He had been uneasy and nervous, that feeling of being watched making his skin crawl but unable to pinpoint any threat beyond a vague intuition. He hadn't wanted to frighten them, though, hoping that it was all just in his paranoid mind.

Iruka really should have known better. They wouldn't be in this situation if he hadn't been such a fool.

Suddenly, the emergence of the massive man from earlier appeared to the right of the group below, running at a languid pace several steps behind them. Iruka quickly pulled several kunai from his pouch and landed on a branch several feet lower, closer to his target. At the last second his plan of attack changed, the kunai in his right hand snapping up to defend his face from the downward strike of a katana while the one in his left went sailing into the direction it was meant but missed its target. He caught the sight of one of his clones turning at the sound the weapon made upon impact and instantly shifting into a fighting stance before his attention was drawn back to the ninja in front of him, instinctively jumping back at the second swing of the enemy's blade. He snapped his eyes to the forehead protector, noting the scratched metal covering the sign for Rock. The fear that these were the same missing nin abducting lower-class ninja and civilians from other countries was enough to increase Iruka's desperation in getting his students safely back to the village.

He dodged several more hits, blocked a good number, and retaliated with a few strikes of his own while he thought of a decent plan of attack. The ninja in front of Iruka was staring at him with an almost bored but curious expression on his face, or what could be seen of it underneath the dark curtain of his bangs. His movements, similar to the burly man fighting Iruka's clone somewhere below them, were lazy. The strikes of his katana were precise and consistent, but didn't push past forcing Iruka into defending himself. Like a cat playing with its meal.

These bastards really were just toying with them.

Iruka gritted his teeth and took notice of the movement of his enemy's feet, which were slightly unsure, but not obviously so, in their placement on the branches as they moved through the trees. Maybe…It seemed like…

Iruka felt a light sense of hope. Iwa ninja wouldn't be as adept in the trees as Konoha ninja, it was too different from their own country's landscape. They may be outclassed and outnumbered against these missing nin, but they had the slight advantage in the familiarity of the terrain.

Feigning an attack to the right which was easily countered, Iruka quickly dropped into a crouch and struck out at the ninja's legs. Predictably he dodged the kick, hopping backwards, only for the branch to snap beneath him, weakened by an outpour of chakra by Iruka. As the man plummeted downwards, Iruka quickly released several shuriken, hoping even one hit.

Images flashed behind his eyes; the forest floor beneath him as he ran, turning to see a kunai embedded in the ground and one of the missing nin in front of him. He saw a dozen blonde clones colliding with the colossal man, only to be swatted aside by those massive arms and eliminated like gnats. He could see several clones attempting to form a Rasengan in Naruto's hand, but they weren't given enough time and Naruto only barely managed to dodge a vicious attack that would have been enough to snap his spine. He heard instructions being yelled to Naruto and saw an array of weapons being thrown at the opponent. The fight didn't last long, but the clone of him put up a valiant fight, managing a few slight injuries. The surprised look on the man's face was a clear indication he hadn't expected any challenges in this chase. The last image he saw before his clone was dispelled was another blonde barrage and the orange-clad back of the original taking off in a quick run, the children sprinting along beside him as fast as their short legs could take them.

Iruka was glad that Naruto insisted he teach him that technique, regardless of its forbidden nature. He could check on the status of his students without actively watching their progress through the forest, since he had no doubt his clones would sacrifice themselves before ever letting harm come to any of the children. As long as they didn't do anything stupid and reckless before his clones had a chance. The only downside was, unlike Naruto, that technique left him practically winded and with very little chakra to fall back on.

Not bothering to watch the ninja hit the ground – more than likely with an effortless, perfect landing, from what Iruka could gauge of his skill – he quickly slapped his only exploding tag onto the kunai still in his hand and chucked it down at the nin before rushing off in the direction he saw his clone take in its memories.

Several paces ahead he caught sight of another one of the missing ninja, his form hunched as he stealthily trailed the young children to their left. The only one of the ninja that had bothered racing along the treetops was the dark haired man somewhere behind him, the other two staying on the floor where the children were. Iruka prayed that there really was only the three of them.

As quietly as he possibly could while going the speed he was, Iruka positioned himself above the ninja. The man didn't seem to notice his appearance there. Iruka took several seconds to calculate his approach in his head, calculate the angle needed. He needed exact precision, any mistake and he'd lose the element of surprise.

With a quick twist of his body, Iruka maneuvered himself onto the underside of a thick branch, using his chakra to at first cling to it, then as a boost to propel him down onto the Rock ninja, using his entire weight to slam into a bony leg. The landing knocked the wind out of him and left him gasping for breath, but the satisfying snap of bones and the high-pitched shriek were worth it.

A ninja who couldn't run was a dead ninja, or at least in this case, one who couldn't pursue Iruka's students.

Ignoring the nasty string of curses, Iruka stumbled to his feet, trying to catch his breath. It was sucked from his chest again as a second wave of images were sent into his memories as his second clone died.

He could see from their surroundings they were getting close to the village, but not close enough yet. The missing ninja, the one Iruka labeled as the real threat among the three, was still chasing them, although now with a more determined pace and a scowl on his face. He must have realized how close they were, too. Naruto continued to supply clones upon clones in an attempt to create a buffer between them, anything to slow the man's pace. At some point, Naruto had three clones created to carry the children. As Iruka had ordered, Naruto wasn't trying to take part in the battle himself, but from the frantic look on the blonde boy's face at the near misses to him and the children, he wasn't even considering it an option anymore. The last image he saw before a large fist cracked his clones' skull and dispelled it into nothing but smoke was the absolutely horrified faces of his children, all four of them.

Apparently the game was over.

Iruka came back to himself, barely dodging an array of senbon thrown from the still seething man on the ground, the tip of one barely grazing against his skin. Iruka could care less. He needed to get to the children, fast.

He ran on slightly unsteady legs, barely avoiding slamming into trees in his hurry to get to the position of his clones last location. He blinked rapidly as his last clone faded, but the images weren't as clear as the others had been. Somewhere in the back of his mind was the hissed word _poison_, probably from that damn senbon, but he couldn't bother to worry about it now.

He skidded ungracefully to a halt behind that mammoth of a man, not sure how he found the group but absolutely relieved that he did. He watched the man eliminate another horde of clones and could see the desperation and fear on Naruto's face. Naruto could probably stand a good chance against this guy if he wasn't spending all of his energy and attention protecting the children. Iruka knew that, and Naruto did, too. Iruka's fingers rapidly went through several signs. He wasn't sure which jutsu he was trying to perform, he wasn't even sure if he had the chakra reserves anymore. All he knew was that if he didn't do something, _anything_, this would all end very badly.

He was surprised when he saw the effects of one of the few earth jutsu he knew – a quicksand jutsu – and even more surprised when he realized he had taken the enemy ninja by surprise, effectively catching him in it. Fingers snapping together again, he hardened the sand as the ninja fell in it to his shoulders.

He looked up and realized Naruto was already gone, several orange blurs high up in the tree tops heading in the direction of the village. Relief poured into Iruka's chest. He had never been as proud of that boy as he was right at this moment. That smart, clever, wonderful boy, finally using his head.

He heard an enraged roar from behind him, barely staggering backwards as the massive ninja removed himself forcibly from the earth trap, the ground crumbling easily under his powerful movements. Iruka frantically dug into his weapons pouch, but found it empty.

He tried to force his sluggish body to move, whether to attack or run he wasn't exactly sure, but it didn't matter anyway since it was dead set on denying him anything more than standing in place. He felt fear curl into the pit of his stomach as the man stood menacingly over him, the tip of Iruka's head coming to about the large man's chest. His body finally started to obey his demands, but he wasn't able to dodge quickly enough to completely avoid the lethal backhand aimed as his skull, Iruka's neck snapping violently to the side.

As Iruka slammed into the ground, face crunching mercilessly into the dirt, he had the most horrifying certainty that his neck was broken.

He could feel the vibrations as the man jumped into the trees to follow the children, his overtly muscled frame awkwardly trying to navigate through the branches. Iruka prayed it was enough of a distraction. He prayed to anyone who would listen that it was enough to get those children safely home.

Iruka twitched his fingers experimentally, trying to detect any nerve damage. There was pain in the movement, but each finger bent and curled on his command. He raised his arms and ran his fingers slowly over the back of his neck. Nothing seemed obviously broken. At the very least, in his sprawled out position on the ground, his foggy mind was starting to clear and the effects of whatever drug was forced into him was starting to fade.

He seriously needed to get up, though, and hurry back to village before someone found him lying here.

He gingerly tried to push himself up onto his hands and knees, only to have a heavy weight placed on the small of his back, keeping him pinned.

"You put up quite a fight," said a low, lethargic voice, Iruka's mind indentifying him as the third ninja to speak, "for someone who looks like you do."

Was that an insult? Bastard. Iruka tried to buck the ninja off of him, but the man was unmovable. He wrenched Iruka's thrashing arms behind his back, easily holding them down with a strong one-handed grip, and unhurriedly bound Iruka's forearms tightly together. Iruka hissed venomously, teeth clenched tightly together. He was in a very bad situation, and he wasn't exactly sure how he'd get out of it. If Naruto made it back to Konoha, surely he'd tell someone and reinforcements would arrive, but there was no guarantee that Iruka would be alive that long.

He needed a plan. He needed to move, to fight. He just needed to escape.

At the very least, he needed to stall.

He tried to turn his head and get a look at the ninja seated on his back, but he could only make out what looked like a sleeve; purple silk with a white floral design. That was an odd outfit to fight in. He realized that in his complete panic in protecting the children, he hadn't bothered to really _look_ at his opponents, the few details he managed to pick up on at the time only determining their size and strength. Which one had been wearing purple silk…?

Well, it wasn't as if it was important right now.

He growled in the direction of the silk, since it was all he could see of the ninja. "What is your reason for doing this? Why attack Konoha ninja so close to their hidden village? You must realize that you won't stand a chance once reinforcements arrive."

A hand ran through the hair trapped in his ponytail. "What makes you think anyone will come for you?" His languid voice didn't sound mocking, only curious. Regardless, the question infuriated Iruka and strengthened his efforts to remove the heavy weight pressing him into the ground.

"Konoha ninja never abandon their comrades," Iruka snapped.

"What conviction…" The missing nin let out a low sigh, his hand still slowly running through Iruka's umber-brown hair. He sounded barely disturbed by Iruka's ineffective struggling. "It's fascinating."

Iruka tried to force his head away from that hand –quite unsuccessfully – and make some sharp retort when he heard a loud hiss to his right and the sound of feet dragging against the ground. He turned his head and saw an extremely thin middle-aged man hobbling through the trees towards them, his right leg dragging behind him. It was easy to tell who this guy was, and Iruka couldn't be prouder of the fact that he actually managed to do some lasting damage on one of these pricks. The sharp, pointed angles of the man's bony face made the scowl look all the more vicious. He nearly tripped over a shrub, pointing an accusing finger at the incapacitated Konoha ninja lying face-first in the dirt. "That's the fucker that broke my leg."

"You should have been paying attention," said the man sitting on top of Iruka, his voice bored and uncaring. "Idiot."

The emaciated looking man growled and hunched his shoulders in agitation, shooting an angry, accusing glare at the man. "Don't get me started, pansy ass. I knew you were following this guy the whole time. It's your fault I'm hurt."

"It's your own fault you're hurt," he said slowly, pausing before adding a "moron".

As they continued insulting each other –one in what seemed be his normal, slow drawl, the other rasping out a filthy amount of profanities – Iruka discreetly tried to work his arms free of what he assumed was medical gauze tying them together. He barely made any progress when he felt the violent vibrations in the earth, announcing the appearance of the third ninja. He whipped his head around quickly, hoping desperately he was coming back alone. Oh god, if his kids didn't make it…

Iruka had several, wonderful seconds to feel relieved. The ninja was alone, and the pissed off expression on his face gave away the fact he hadn't succeeded. The kids were safe. Every muscle in Iruka's body relaxed before a large foot stomped heavily on his head, smacking his jaw into the ground. He heard an irritated grunt from the man in the purple silk, but it was drowned out by the blood roaring in his ears.

"I couldn't catch them," the man growled, booming voice filled with annoyance. "That little blonde bug kept multiplying, like a damn cockroach. Then this little shit," he stomped on Iruka's head again, making him moan in pain. "And then they were in the trees and I couldn't risk getting too close to the village and…" He shouted in frustration and slammed his foot down again. Iruka could taste blood in his mouth, but he was too dizzy to determine if it was from loose teeth or torn skin.

The middle-aged man let out a raspy, upset grumble. "You mean all we got for our trouble was the old man? I wanted that cute little girl. Fuck, the things I could have done to her…"

Iruka didn't know where the sudden strength in his body came from –probably an adrenaline drive fueled by all of the anger he could feel pulsing through his veins – but his violent movements were finally enough that the man still sitting on him struggled to keep him in place. He wasn't exactly sure what he was yelling, only knew that it was full of profanity and insults and unbridled anger. He hadn't cursed like that since he was an angry teenager, before he became a teacher of young, impressionable students. He wanted nothing more than to buck this guy off of him and break every bone in that guy's face. Even the implication of what that bastard had wanted was too much for Iruka. They would have had to cut off his arms and legs and rip his heart out of his chest before he ever let any of them lay a finger on his kids.

The sleazy bastard let out an unimpressed snort, his mouth twisted into an ugly sneer. "I say we cut off the little bitch's head and leave it for the Konoha ninja to find," he rasped, pulling a dagger from a scabbard on his thigh and wobbling towards the bound man. Iruka was too angry to care, still fuming and thrashing on the ground. A small part of him had already resigned itself to death the moment he was caught anyway, although he hoped no one he knew had the misfortune of finding his body. A knee dug painfully into Iruka's back, finally halting his movements. He heard the sound of metal moving from a sheath above him.

"Try and I'll gut you. I caught him, he's mine," hissed the man in the purple silk, his voice low and deadly.

"You wouldn't have caught him if I hadn't poisoned him, dipshit!" the ninja retorted.

"Shut up!" roared the massive man, his large hands viciously scratching over his bald head in frustration. His face scrunched up, like he was trying to think, before settling into a determined expression. "The boss wants someone; we got Mother Hen. We're taking him back with us."

"But that little shit broke my leg!"

"Get over it and stop whining like a girl."

The bony man grumbled loudly and took another senbon from his pouch, stabbing it into one of Iruka's bound arms. Iruka's vision instantly blurred, his head falling limply to the ground. His entire body felt heavy, like he was sinking into the earth, but he couldn't feel anything at the same time. He couldn't move. Numb. Tired. This was bad – so very, very bad. He would rather die than be taken hostage, but for the life of him he couldn't remember any of the suicide techniques every ninja knew for situations like this. He did know some, right? Not that he could move a single muscle anyway. Even his tongue felt unreasonably heavy in his mouth.

He felt fingers curl around his Konoha headband, pulling it from his forehead. He gurgled a sound that should have been a whine in the back of his throat, despairing over the loss. He was barely able to make out the _thunk_ it made as his headband – his possession, his pride, his love, his life– fell to the ground. "You won't need this anymore." Iruka heard the words, but he couldn't determine which one of the enemy nin was speaking.

Iruka faintly recalled being hoisted off of the ground and a soft voice murmuring into his ear "they really won't come for you, you know," before every sight and sound faded into nothing, being replaced by stark silence.

* * *

"Yo, Cyclops."

Kakashi turned his head slightly and nodded in greeting at the red-headed male walking towards him. "Yo."

The man chuckled, a wide grin spread across his face as he placed a cigarette in his mouth and lit it. He wrapped a threadbare scarf tighter around his neck to keep out the chill of the frigid air, moving to stand beside Kakashi on the balcony.

Kakashi turned back to stare out at the snow covered landscape of Snow Country. He had never missed the warm, pleasant weather of Konoha more than he did right now staring at the slow snowfall blanketing the land. He almost wished he had thought a little more on the location of his current mission before accepting it, and how much he really didn't like cold weather, but that hadn't exactly been important at the time. Not when he was just desperate to get as far from the village and the burn of shame and guilt he felt after the separation of his genin team.

He let out a slow breath and closed the eye not hidden by an eye patch. He shouldn't be thinking of that now, not while he was on an undercover mission alone surrounded by enemies, one of them nonchalantly leaning against the railing beside him. He cracked open the eye and glanced sidelong at the red-head as he coughed hoarsely around the cigarette. "Those things will kill you, Red," he said in a rough, scratchy voice, very unlike his normal smooth baritone.

Red's lips curled upwards, showing the sharp set of teeth currently clamped on the small stick. "I'll die long before these things have a chance to kill me off," he croaked.

Kakashi snorted quietly and they fell into silence again. Several minutes passed before a sharp elbow knocked into his side, Red motioning with a nod of his head at several shadows racing through the snow towards the building. "Looks like they're back. Think they got anything?"

Kakashi "hmm'ed" and turned to walk back into the building, brushing snowflakes out of his black-dyed hair. He honestly hoped they hadn't. The things these bastards did to people were horrible, and he wasn't in a position to stop them without jeopardizing his mission. He hated standing idly by and watching, as if their sick torture was nothing but entertainment, but he also knew how vital his mission was.

Kakashi slouched casually in the corner of a large room, watching idly as the other members of the gang wandered in at the sound of the front door slamming and the loud voices bickering back and forth. He glanced to the side as the leader emerged from a door on his left, coming to stand in the center of the room expectantly. All eyes turned towards the large door at the front of the room as it opened, the massive man everyone called Brute walking in first. Raider, the greasy middle-aged pervert of their group, clung irritably to the large man's back, snapping vicious comments at the third man walking in.

Kakashi discretely clinched his teeth together for a second before forcing himself to relax. Three men had been sent out, four returned. He felt pity for the poor man draped limply over the black haired ninja's shoulder. As they walked closer, Kakashi had to restrain himself when he recognized the Konoha flack vest. Dirty and torn, but unmistakable.

"Only one?" said the leader, a man named "Birdman" for his aquiline nose and spiked blonde hair, resembling a cockatoo. He gave the group a contemplative look.

Brute jutted out his lip slightly in an almost pout, a comical look on his massive frame. "There were a few more, but…" He rubbed a hand over the cold skin on his bald head, brushing off a few snowflakes.

Raider hissed viciously, slapping Brute several times in an unspoken command to let him down. "These assholes let them get away!"

A soft, low sigh came from the man holding onto the Konoha ninja. He didn't socialize much so Kakashi didn't really know him, but he had heard others refer to the man as "Sloth" because of his slow, soft way of speaking. "We underestimated them." Brute nodded his head dejectedly in agreement.

Birdman was silent for several moments before turning away. "At least you didn't come back empty-handed. Lock the ninja away for now, we'll decide what to do with it later."

As Sloth turned to head towards the buildings makeshift "prison", Kakashi locked his eye on the face of the Konoha ninja. He knew he shouldn't have the second he saw a face familiar to him. The usual perky brown ponytail was dirty and tangled, the tan face slack and covered in cuts and bruises, but the old scar across that slender nose was unmistakable. He knew that man and he knew how many people cared about him back in Konoha.

Shit.

* * *

_Oh boy. I'm sort of nervous; I've never written a battle-type scene before. I hope it didn't come off too weird, please tell me if it did. _

_Please comment, I appreciate feedback! If you liked it, tell me what you liked about it. If you didn't like it, tell me what you didn't like. Anything you feel I should have expanded on? Anything that seems like too much information? Constructive criticism is always appreciated, so tell me and I'll try my best to improve! I don't have a beta, so if you see any mistakes please feel free to mention them (I probably don't even realize I'm making them). _


	2. Chapter 2: God Loved the Birds

Title: A Caged Bird

Series: Naruto

Pairing: Kakashi/Iruka

Warnings: Rating M; Violence, language, sex, non-con, m-preg (sort of), angst

_Disclaimer: __ I don't own it. If I did, Iruka would actually be in it. _

* * *

_God loved the birds and invented trees. Man loved the birds and invented cages.__ - __Jacques Deval_

**Chapter 2: God Loved the Birds**

Kakashi stood outside on the balcony watching the snow fall. There wasn't much for anyone to do other than wait until Birdman called a meeting to decide what to do with Iruka.

Iruka. Umino Iruka. Damn it, what was a Konoha school teacher doing here anyway? Why wasn't he back in the village, safe and sound and doing his job?

Kakashi clenched his numb fingers on the balcony railing. This was wrong. This whole situation was wrong.

He felt powerless standing idly by like this. He knew he was stronger than all of the men in this building, could wipe them out within the blink of an eye, but he couldn't stop them or help any of the people forced here without jeopardizing his mission. People were losing their lives in this godforsaken torture house, but if he didn't find a way to accomplish his task it could cost the lives of even more, and it was very likely the targets would be those with power. Kakashi didn't like the thought of sacrificing the poor and unimportant to protect the wealthy and powerful, but one of those wealthy and powerful targets could very well be the Hokage. This wasn't a mission he could fail, he knew that, but it didn't make it any easier. It made him nauseous watching them torture innocent people, but he needed to pretend that it didn't so he wouldn't garner any suspicion.

But this was different. This was the first person he _knew_, someone from his home that he should be protecting. Could he honestly act like it didn't upset him?

Damn it. Damn everything. How did everything end up like this?

His thoughts turned to Sasuke, which wasn't surprising. They often did these days, despite every effort he made not to think about it.

Sasuke's betrayal and desertion had badly affected Kakashi, much more than he let anyone see. Underneath his usual nonchalant façade was a torrent of grief and guilt.

He had failed the boy. He had failed his entire team. It was his first genin team –and he had been so sure of them, knew how much potential they all had – and he had been useless as their teacher and guide. Sasuke may have been the only one to desert the village, but all three of his students had left him to fall under the tutelage of other instructors.

Kakashi hadn't been a great teacher. He wasn't even sure if he had been a good one. There were so many things he had done wrong. Maybe if he hadn't been so hard on them. Maybe if he had been less focused on seeing them as soldiers to be molded and more as the impressionable children that they were. He had honestly tried to teach them good values, but in hindsight he wondered if his desire to push them towards success as quickly as he could had overshadowed those few and far between lessons. He knew he wasn't a patient man. Ever since he was a child he had been the type of person to want results quickly. It had worked for him that his students had been a lot like him in that regard, wanting to reach the top and gain the power and prestige that came with being strong ninja. He had thought they were ready for it. He had thought they understand the responsibilities that power came with. He had honestly thought he was doing a good job as their teacher. Now he knew he had only been fooling himself. Maybe if he had been less reckless, more compassionate, if he hadn't pushed them so hard…

Kakashi closed his eye and let out a sharp, irritated breath. Thinking about the "what if's" wouldn't help him. All they did was fuel the shame and disappointment resting like a thick liquid clotting in his veins. He had already spent too many hours – too many days, too many weeks – berating himself for his shortcomings when he had been back in Konoha, right after the boy had left.

He had walked around the village with the same old slouch and the same uncaring attitude, but his mind hadn't once let him forget. Over and over his mind had supplied different scenarios, all of the things he should have done better. Every minute of every day. He couldn't think about anything else. His thoughts had continued to run in circles, going through scenario after scenario, again and again and again, like one of those damn "choose your own adventure" stories Kakashi had been fond of as a child. And it just wouldn't stop.

It had been driving him insane. He had just needed to get out of the village, needed to do anything to momentarily forget and make the ache in his chest go away.

Regular missions he had finished without any thought since he didn't have a genin team to train and protect anymore. They hadn't been satisfying and left too much time to think. He had tried to have the Hokage reinstate him back into ANBU, but she had refused. Something about the records saying it had been hard enough to get him to quit the first time. He had appreciated the fact that she cared, sort of, but he had desperately needed something, anything, to occupy his attention.

So, in the end, he had settled for a mission as far from the village as possible; a recovery mission. A farmer's son had gone missing and Kakashi's job had been to find him. At the very least he had hoped playing detective would have been enough to take his mind off of things.

Obviously he had known that searching while looking like the infamous Copy Ninja wouldn't help him at all, so a disguise had been in order. Jet-black hair dye to hide his obvious silver locks and a dark grey contact lens –just in case anyone saw underneath the eye patch he wore – to hide the Sharingan. Despite what many people believed, Kakashi had an absolutely ordinary face hidden underneath his mask; not noticeably ugly and not ridiculously handsome. Dressed in a casual traveler's outfit, Kakashi had looked fantastically unremarkable. It had made it a lot easier to get people to open up and talk to him, especially in the shady areas he had planned to gather information.

Except he hadn't been able to find anything. No one had seen the boy, no one had heard anything, no corpse had been found. It was as if he had just disappeared into thin air without a trace. That hadn't been acceptable. Kakashi wasn't one to leave a mission unfinished, and he had refused to take "just disappeared" as an answer. His self-confidence had already taken a nosedive – which he didn't show outwardly, of course – after his team had disbanded. He really hadn't needed a failed mission to make him feel even worse. So, despite feeling that it was rather hopeless, he had continued searching.

Eventually he had found a lead. He had managed to have a drunken conversation with a man who had heard from his cousin in another village of a shady underground organization, although the man didn't know what they did that made them suspicious. Not wanting to admit to himself he had only followed the vague clue because it was the only one he had found in all of his searching, Kakashi had set off to find this organization and see if it had any connection to his mission.

The next thing he knew, he was in deep, and what he had found was much worse than a case of a missing farm boy.

"You're thinking too much. I can smell your brain frying from here."

Kakashi snorted, not bothering to turn around, but he forced his fingers to release their tight grip on the railing. He couldn't risk looking anxious or tense, not in front of the enemy. "Just curious what they'll do to that poor bastard," he said with a small laugh.

He heard a snort of laughter behind him that was quickly followed with several hacking coughs. He glanced over as Red came to stand to the right of him, a cigarette already burning brightly between his lips. "Who knows. Poor bastard." The man snickered loudly, a wide grin stretched across his face. "Remember that last guy? Skin melted right off his bones. Now that was cool."

Kakashi forced a convincing chuckle, the corners of his lips curled upwards into an amused smile. "Too bad they don't do repeat performances." Thank god they didn't. That one had been enough to supply him with more nightmares than he needed and it was one that was guaranteed to haunt him for the rest of his life. That poor man, a civilian even younger than Kakashi, had begged and cried and screamed for mercy the entire time. It had been a quick death, quicker than some of the others he had seen, but the sheer agony on the man's face and in his voice had made Kakashi want to vomit.

"Yeah," Red grunted, blowing smoke out of his nose. "Birdman isn't in it for the entertainment. He just wants to try as many different ones as he can. Not that I'm complaining, the Doc never seems to run out of creativity."

The Doctor. He was the one Kakashi needed to get close to, but that had proven to be extremely difficult. They had a medic ninja that the men had regular checkups with – an old man the group had locked away named Gramps – but Kakashi didn't think he was the one they were referring to when they said "the Doctor". He was positive there was someone else, someone he hadn't met, and he was the person Kakashi needed to find.

But even getting any information on the man from his "friends" in the gang was nearly impossible. It was an extremely small group – only 9 people including himself – which helped in keeping them off the radar as a threat to anyone. If it hadn't been for Kakashi accidently stumbling upon the group during his mission, Konoha would never have known the threat had even existed. Even though Kakashi had been lucky enough to worm his way into the group, it seemed no one – especially the leader – really trusted him and he felt like every movement he made was being watched. Kakashi suspected that was the very reason Red always found a convenient reason to hang around him in the guise of friendship.

"Hey." Kakashi turned to look at the man calling to them from the open doorway. Tall green mohawk and ghost-pale skin, he was a man the others affectionately called 'Turnip' despite the man's stubborn insistence that they call him Hawk. Kakashi couldn't care less what his name was.

Red turned around, glancing at the man. "Is he ready?" At the affirmative nod, Red dropped the cigarette and crushed it beneath the toe of his boot before walking into the building, Kakashi trailing behind him. They went into a dimly lit room, Red and Turnip taking their seats at the round table and Kakashi taking his place at the chair in the corner. As the "newcomer" he was allowed to listen to their meeting, but not allowed to give his opinion or sit at the table. That had been the leaders' decision, Birdman's way of letting Kakashi know his place in the group and exactly how insignificant he was to them.

Everything they said in these meetings was coded so they didn't seem worried about him listening in. Maybe they thought he was stupid or something and didn't have the intelligence to figure any of it out. Maybe they were aware that he could understand certain things but also knew that it didn't matter if he couldn't get the big picture. Whichever one it was, it didn't matter. He could decipher some of their code and mentally cataloged what he could gather, but it wasn't enough and it really pissed him off.

Birdman cast a condescending glance at Kakashi before turning his attention to the three men that had captured Iruka. "Did you name the ninja?"

Naming. When Kakashi had first introduced himself to the group he had said his name was Kain, a rogue ninja from Suna. They had quickly disregarded that and had insisted that they call him Cyclops. Kakashi hadn't really understood, but Red explained that it was Birdman's way of erasing any of their past attachments. Every name had a life attached to it, and that past life was only an unnecessary connection. A new name was a new beginning, a fresh slate. Name's based off of appearances and personalities had no ties to any country or any village, only to the person.

The naming of members was used to separate a person from their old life. The naming of "prisoners" was meant to be degrading.

"We've been calling him Mother Hen," answered Raider, his thin lips spread into a malicious smile. Kakashi hated himself a little for agreeing it seemed appropriate for Iruka.

Birdman cocked a flaxen eyebrow upwards and paused in thought for several seconds before nodding slightly. He entwined his fingers together, resting his elbows on the table. "Very well. What shall we do with Mother Hen?"

"Technique 2," Brute said confidently. Kakashi knew which one that was, if only because Brute said it every single time. Somehow this "Doctor" had managed a technique to block chakra paths, leaving a ninja as weak as an average civilian. Kakashi had already known that was one of the techniques they would use, since they did so with any ninja they managed to catch. It hadn't been necessary for Brute to say, but Kakashi had the feeling it was the only technique number he had managed to remember and wanted to at least pretend he was contributing to the meeting. In all honestly, Kakashi felt a small –very, very small – amount of pity for the man due to his utter lack of intelligence. He also suspected that Brute was the only one out of the group who even remotely trusted him and was probably the reason they didn't just kill him off to ease their suspicion.

Birdman nodded again and Brute leaned back in his chair, obviously finished with his part of the meeting. "Of course. Any other suggestions?"

Red lifted his head and cleared his throat. "Tactic 2, technique 13." Kakashi managed not to stiffen. Tactic 2 technique 13 had been the last one used. If what he had seen so far was true, he didn't need to worry about Birdman accepting any requests for ones they had already used, but even the thought of watching a Konoha ninja dissolve into a puddle of melted flesh and singed bones turned his stomach. He hoped that whatever torture method they decided to use wasn't under tactic 2. He didn't know if his sanity could endure it.

"We've already tried that one. You know that," Birdman replied.

Red snickered, a hand coming up to brush through his spiked hair. "Yeah, yeah. A guy could hope. How about tactic 2 technique 19?"

Turnip let out a disgruntled groan, his nose scrunched up in slight revulsion. "No way, man. That one's messy. You guys always make me clean up the blood afterwards."

"We'll just make Cyclops do it this time," Red replied, turning in his seat to grin at Kakashi. Kakashi was thankful he had complete control over his face, positive none of his disgust was showing in his expression.

Birdman shook his head slightly. "We've used tactic 2 too often lately. We need to try different techniques for a broader variety."

Red huffed a sigh and bit the inside of his cheek in thought. "What about tactic 6? Tactic 3?"

Kakashi had seen both on several occasions; tactic 6 was the opposite of tactic 2 in that it killed you slowly over hours and tactic 3 was a complete manipulation of the human body to the point it was unrecognizable and extremely grotesque. It was completely unnatural and horrifyingly cruel, and Kakashi honestly couldn't understand how they were doing it.

Red tilted his head back dramatically and groaned as their leader once again rejected his choices. "Alright, boss, which tactic do you think we should use?"

"Tactic 5."

"Tactic 5?" Kakashi belatedly realized he had said it out loud as Birdman's eyes snapped over to stare at him, the distrust visible in his cold gaze. Kakashi let one corner of his lips twitch up into an apologetic smile, fingers coming up to make a zipping motion across his mouth. It did little to appease the intent stare.

No one else had seemed to care that he had said anything. Red leaned over the table to stare at their fair-haired leader, an unsure expression on his face. "Are you sure? I mean, I know you think it's something that could work, but…"

Raider hissed in the back of his throat, slapping his hands against the wood of the table. "That little bastard _broke my leg_. How the hell is tactic 5 going to make him pay for that? I want him to _bleed_."

"From what Brute told me, you were being careless and let your guard down."

"Yeah? Well Brute's a –"Raider cut off his sentence as Birdman's menacing eyes narrowed into slits. Kakashi had noticed on several occasions that no one would openly ridicule Brute. At first he had thought it was because of the man's massive size, but lately he had the distinct feeling it was from fear of retribution from the leader. He wasn't sure what type of relationship was between Birdman and Brute, but there had to be something to cause that protective nature from the blonde man's usual callous personality. Kakashi only wished he knew what their connection was and how he could manipulate it to his advantage.

Red coughed and tried to dispel the suddenly tense atmosphere. "So…tactic 5, huh?"

Birdman closed his eyes, trying to regain his composure. "Yes, tactic 5. Konoha ninja are known for their loyalty and strength of will."

Turnip sniggered under his breath. "You mean they're prideful shits. Although maybe not so much after they just got fucked over by one of their own." Kakashi tried not to grind his teeth or let any anger show on his face. It didn't matter, at least not right now.

Birdman nodded. "If Mother Hen is anything like his people, then the success of a tactic 5 experiment would be of great use in our overall goal. Technique 8 should work well."

Red blinked several times before throwing his head back with a howl, his entire body shaking with laughter that quickly turned into a vicious coughing fit. "Oh hell, that hurts…" He took a few deep breaths, mouth spread into a sadistic sneer. "Not my favorite kind of entertainment, I prefer a lot of blood, but I kinda like it. So, are we gonna…?"

"Yes."

Another loud laugh from Red, Turnip chortling right along beside him and Brute chuckling as well, despite obviously not knowing what was so funny. Even Raider had lightened from his mood at whatever plan they had in mind, and he looked almost _excited_. It made Kakashi extremely nervous. Maybe a tactic 2 technique would be better than whatever Hell they had waiting for Iruka. At least it would be over quickly that way.

Sloth, who had up until that point been his usual quiet and apathetic self, sat up and frowned in irritation. "I like him the way he is."

"Shut up, pansy ass," Raider jeered. "You're just upset you don't get to make him your gay fuck toy."

Sloth narrowed his eyes at the man, his teeth clenched tightly together. "Watch your tongue or I'll cut it off, pedophile. I caught him, I should –"

"You know that isn't how this works, Sloth," Birdman interrupted, causing the dark haired man to grunt in vexation. "Who is in favor of tactic 5 technique 8?" Every other hand at the table rose. Sloth turned away to stare gloomily at a wall, arms folded over his chest. "Then we're in agreement."

"Oh, wait," Raider started, that excited face looking disgustingly hopeful. "Can we-…well since we're doing technique 8, can we try technique 11, too? That Konoha bitch stopped me from getting my real prize; I think it's an appropriate punishment. Number 8."

Numbers? Kakashi hadn't heard them catalogue anything under "numbers" before…damn it. Now he was getting a headache. He didn't know how much more of this he could stand.

Red snorted. "No way, old man. You're sick. 16 is as low as I'll go."

Kakashi heard another low grumble of "I like him as his is" from Sloth.

Birdman thought it over for a moment before nodding slightly and standing, the others at the table following his lead. "We'll see what the Doctor can do."

And with that, the meeting was over and Kakashi had the irritating feeling he hadn't learned anything at all.

* * *

Iruka woke up with a groan. Or at least he thought he was awake. He couldn't find the strength to open his eyes, but his body hurt too much for him to still be unconscious.

Taking what was supposed to be several deep breaths, but came out stunted and sharp and agonizing for his aching lungs, Iruka successfully managed to crack one of his eyes open. The sudden light was painful and made him want to shut his eye again, but he persevered. He needed to find out where he was and what he was doing here and what the hell happened to make his body hurt this much. His vision was blurred and he sluggishly tried to blink that eye several times to clear it.

He heard a noise – something high-pitched and joyful – and he tried to turn towards it but his head lolled to the right, resting limply against his shoulder. Or maybe it was the left. Direction wasn't really in his top priority list at the moment. The movement had put something in his vision, though, that looked different than all of the other white blurs.

Familiar…Yellow. Hair. Blonde hair.

_Naruto. _

Iruka tried to say the name, but his throat was sore and painful and the word came out as a soft exhale of breath instead. He tried to reach out and place a hand on that golden head, to reassure himself it was really there, but the second he moved his arm it snapped back into place. Above his head. What were his arms doing up there…? His head wrenched backwards so he could stare up at them and he tugged feebly on the restraints around his wrists. How peculiar.

For several seconds he was extremely confused, but then it all came back – the children, the enemy ninja, the sedative drugs – and he had to force himself to stay calm. Panicking would not help him. Iruka let his head collapse back onto his shoulder, trying to focus on that blonde hair again. He blinked several more times and his vision had managed to clear enough that he could see a full head of sandy blonde curls. Definitely not Naruto.

"So you finally woke up. I thought you'd stay asleep forever, old man," said that joyful, cheeky voice. Iruka tried to bellow out a threatening demand to be released, but all that came out was an incoherent gurgle, his jaw muscles too slack to form words correctly.

"Well, don't worry. I'm about to get started anyway." Get started? Get started with what? Iruka managed to open his other eye after a few unsuccessful attempts, but couldn't focus very well on the man. Wait, boy. Not that it really mattered right now. Age was another thing that didn't seem important at the moment. He was able to make out what looked like a small blonde-headed figure hunched over something. Something…red…sort of square-shaped…a book? Why would he need a book? A throbbing pain started up in Iruka's head and he groaned under his breath. He could barely keep his eyes open, if he thought too hard his head would probably explode.

The blonde boy looked up at him and walked towards him, the large red thing still in his hands. If it was a book, it was massive. He placed it somewhere outside of Iruka's vision and then moved into Iruka's personal space, prodding at his chest which felt oddly unclothed. Iruka stared at that small finger for several moments before his eyes were able to focus past it and onto his chest, noticing black symbols painted on his bare skin. Those shouldn't be there.

"Yeah," the boy said, moving away from Iruka again. "I'm pretty sure it's right." He came back into the drowsy man's vision with what looked like a scalpel in his hand.

Iruka stared in morbid fascination as that small blade cut into his skin, directly over those painted symbols, and watched as his own blood trailed in little streams down his chest. The pain hit him a second later. It was excruciating and it drowned out every other ache in his body, making him gasp and hiss despite his efforts to hide it. The blade moved slowly and methodically, digging deep and ripping off several chunks of skin to follow the curves and dips of those symbols.

Iruka forced his eyes back up to glare at the sadistic little bastard when he noticed it, and it nearly made him choke on his own tongue.

Those eyes. He knew those eyes. The color was off, more of a light blue, but he couldn't mistake the bulging skin around those eyes or the contracted pupils. He had seen that technique, knew the only people who could use it, and had even taught several of the children from that clan. The same eyes he had seen on Neji and Hinata and Hanabi…

_What the hell are you doing here?_

He wanted to demand answers but he couldn't voice them over the harsh rasps forcing their way from his throat or the sharp, painful inhales of his breathing. It hurt. It hurt too much. He should be able to withstand this, he was a ninja, but the pain was more than he could bear.

Iruka's eyes rolled to the back of his head and all of the pain was once again swallowed by blissful nothingness.

* * *

Kakashi, once again, found himself outside on the old building's balcony, waiting. It had finally stopped snowing and everything looked rather beautiful covered in white, but he couldn't be bothered to take notice of it. Just a little longer, and –

"Yo. Thinking too hard again?"

Kakashi smiled and turned around to face Red. "No, not really. But I was thinking of heading to town to get a drink."

Red laughed, a knowing glint in his eyes. "Wanna go get shit-faced, huh?"

Kakashi laughed hoarsely, much louder than he usually ever would. "Pretty much. There's nothing quite like a good beer." Which, honestly, Kakashi thought was true. He loved good alcohol and had a bad habit of drinking too much on occasion, but he had no intention of getting drunk on this outing. What he really needed to do was loosen a few tongues and find out what they were going to do to Iruka. Now all he needed was for the man to invite himself, like the good watchdog he was.

Red grinned and tossed the cigarette he had just put into his mouth on the ground. "Sounds fun, I'll grab the boys."

Kakashi nodded. "Perfect."

The building the little group hid in was, for the most part, rather isolated, but it was close enough to a small town about a half hour away that running there in the snow wouldn't be a problem. The town was a rather popular hangout for low-class crooks and criminals and they had a bar there that sold beer terrible enough it could make you gag, but the men seemed to like it and Kakashi pretended to as well.

Ordering himself a drink, Kakashi waited until the others – Red, Turnip, Raider, and Brute – had enough that they wouldn't suspect anything in his questions. It was hard enough getting anything out of them without looking suspicious. The problem was they barely talked about work, at least not around him. He needed to goad them into it, find a way to steer the conversation onto Iruka.

He just really, really hated waiting.

"And then this shithead here tripped and let the girl get away," Red said, tossing a few peanuts from the bowl on the table at Turnip, who laughed obnoxiously and tossed the entire bowl at the crimson-haired man in retaliation.

"You're the one who got kicked in the balls, jackass. At least I tried running after her."

Red snickered. "Yeah. She would have been a fun one, though. I like em' feisty."

Kakashi was silently thankful the girl had managed to get away. He knew well enough what these bastards did to women.

"That's too bad," Kakashi said, taking a small swig from the bottle cradled in his hand. "It's a real pain when others fuck things up for you."

Turnip shot him an insulted look and Red looked like he was choking back more laughter but Kakashi wasn't focusing his attention on them. What he wanted was to incite the rage he had seen in Raider earlier. From the older man's red face and furrowed eyebrows, Kakashi figured he had succeeded.

"You're damn right it's fucked up. You know," he paused to take a large gulp of his beer, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "I had the chance to bring back a really nice piece of ass and that fucker Sloth ruined it for me."

Red lifted an eyebrow, lips turned up into an amused smile. "I thought it was Mother Hen who ruined it for you. He's the one who broke your leg, right?"

Raider glowered, shifting his still cast-covered leg further under the table. "That little Konoha bitch was pathetic. We would have caught him and the others easily if it hadn't been for Sloth's fuck-ups. Then we could have left him dead in the woods like I wanted to."

No, Iruka wasn't pathetic and he wasn't weak, he just had terrible luck. If it was a fair fight between Raider and Iruka, Kakashi had no doubt who the winner would be. If it hadn't been for Brute and Sloth, the only ones in the group with any actual strength or ability, Iruka would still be safe in the village.

But the conversation had finally shifted to Iruka. He needed to take advantage of it while he could.

Kakashi smirked and leaned back in his chair. "He did look sort of pathetic. I bet he went down easy."

"Only took one hit," Brute said smugly, his massive arms crossed over his chest and his chin held up high with pride.

Red cackled. "Anyone would go down with a single hit from you." Brute's bellowing laughter nearly shook the table, the others laughing along with him.

Kakashi snorted in amusement, slapping Brute cordially on the shoulder. It was like hitting a wall. "Well, Brute, you single-handedly brought in the unfortunate shit. Congratulations." Kakashi nearly toppled over onto the table when the grinning man returned an equally amiable slap on the back and another loud round of laughter.

Kakashi righted himself and leaned against the table, resting his face in the palm of his hand. He let out a thoughtful hum. "But he probably won't last very long, will he? The weak one's never do…"

Raider's smile turned rather malicious. "No, he won't. The bastard will be begging for death soon enough."

Kakashi cocked a dark eyebrow. "You sound rather pleased with the idea now. You didn't seem too thrilled with it earlier."

"Let's just say it grew on me," Raider said, his eyes burning with perverse hatred. "I want to hear him cry and beg for us to cut his throat."

"Oh? But you all said it yourselves, Konoha ninja are prideful. Do you honestly think he'll cry and beg for anything?"

Turnip chucked. "That's the point of tactic 5. We'll break Mother Hen until there's nothing left of him."

Turnip was barely able to dodge an empty beer bottle tossed at his head, flailing to the right and crashing into the floor. He shouted an annoyed curse at Red, who was starting to look rather annoyed. Red's downturned lips quickly quirked upwards as he shot Kakashi a cheeky look. "I know what you're doing. Trying to find out what's gonna happen to Mother Hen, right? I've told you before, Birdman won't let us tell you that stuff."

Damn it.

Kakashi smiled slightly and ran a pale hand through his dark hair. "Sorry, just curious."

Red looked contemplative for several seconds before laughing it off and standing from his chair. "Not that it matters. But we should head back now." The others stood as well, gulping down the rest of their beers and heading for the door. Kakashi followed their lead, but stopped when he felt Red's hand tug on his shirt sleeve. Red leaned in close, the rancid smell of the beer on his breath burning Kakashi's nose. "You really shouldn't worry too much. I know you'll like this one." Red grinned jovially at him before following the other men out of the door.

Kakashi followed after them, cursing silently to himself.

* * *

When they arrived back, they were told they needed to have their checkup with Gramps, the old medic ninja they had hired. Birdman was a fanatic when it came to health, and due to some of the more…promiscuous things the group would do, he required every one of the men who took part in these "group activities" to get their health cleared to insure none of them had any transmittable diseases.

These activities only applied when the group had a woman, though, so it wouldn't be relevant to the situation with Iruka. Kakashi figured that meant some poor, damned woman had caught someone's fancy and found herself dragged into this hellhole. Just another person Kakashi couldn't help.

Damn it. Was there really no other way to do this? Was his only viable option to sit and watch and wait? _Damn it._

Kakashi dragged himself to the room Gramps was locked in, greeting the old man as he walked through the door. The senile old man smiled a toothless grin and started mumbling about how Kakashi looked so much like his son, who was coming back from the war soon. Like he did every time Kakashi came in. Kakashi wondered if this state of senility was the man's way of keeping even a shred of his sanity in this place and the only reason he hadn't committed suicide over the guilt. He may not have been active like the others, but he knew exactly what they were doing. The old man knew that every frightened woman sent to him for an evaluation was going straight into the arms of those rapists.

Kakashi sat on the table and took a deep breath, letting the old man's boney fingers poke and prod at him. He felt the small waves of chakra seeping from those wrinkled hands.

Kakashi closed his eyes and for what seemed like the hundredth time tried to think of a better strategy, one that didn't have him trapped in such a passive role. He wasn't any good at the waiting game, he needed action. But what else could he do?

They had to be planning something that would make it easier to use, and that thought had sent red flags to Kakashi's brain. The Doctor seemed like a genius. He had been able to create this torture method that Kakashi couldn't even begin to figure out, and if he could do that then there was the possibility that he could create a method of using the techniques twice as effortless as any jutsu and with much more devastating results. If that was the case, then it had the potential to be very, very bad. Kakashi needed to eliminate them all quickly.

But there were so many things he didn't know, and he had that terrible gut feeling that he was missing _something_, something important that would be catastrophic if he overlooked it by moving too fast. If he eliminated the threat, would it be gone completely or were they working for someone else under the guise of "rouge ninja from Rock"? If they were, and Kakashi eliminated them now without knowing, the information could still be passed on without him realizing and all of this would have been for nothing. He was nearly certain that they had to be cataloging the torture techniques and keeping them hidden somewhere. None of them, except for the Doctor himself, were nearly clever enough to have memorized every tactic and technique and number the way they clearly had. What Kakashi needed was to find wherever they were hiding it.

But again, that was a little hard with the fact he couldn't even spend a few minutes alone without someone constantly watching over his shoulder. Even his room was being videotaped and monitored with an advanced chakra seal so they knew every time he entered and left it. He needed to gain their trust enough that he could actively look for it.

The decision was whether to act now and save the life of a Konoha ninja, and as a result risk the probable chance that his actions could have deadly consequences for the Hokage, or continue to wait for the opportune moment to gather the needed information without garnering any suspicion.

Kakashi resisted the urge to groan out loud and bury his face into his hands. This was just so damn useless.

A fragile hand gently rested on his shoulder and the old man murmured a quiet "you're clean". Kakashi nodded stiffly before walking out of the old man's prison cell, quickly changing his stance to one of nonchalance as he noticed Red leaning against the wall in the hallway.

"Clean?" Red asked, face split into a grin. Kakashi smiled back, his eye curving up into its own smile on instinct.

"Clean as they come," he replied.

"Good!" Red pushed off of the wall and stood beside Kakashi, jostling their shoulders together in a friendly gesture. "Let's go kill some time. Brute bought this cool board game not too long ago." With a casual shrug of his shoulder, Kakashi walked along beside the man, adding his own amount of fake companionship to their conversation.

* * *

The wait had seemed endless, but eventually they had all been called together again. The entertainment was about to begin.

Kakashi had been anxious over it the second he had realized the captured ninja had come from Konoha. The calculating part of his mind was preparing itself to collect any information it could gather, the dutiful soldier in him resigning himself to doing his job, but his heart and soul recoiled from the thought of watching whatever was going to happen to Iruka. Kakashi was a ninja. His duty, first and foremost, was to insure the safety of the Hokage and Konoha, whatever the cost. Nothing was more important, not his own life and not the life of another citizen of Konoha.

Kakashi lifted his eye to stare intently at the door as it clicked open, ignoring the excited chatter from the other men in the room. Birdman walked in first, followed by a disgruntled looking Sloth carrying a limp body in his arms. It looked enough like Iruka, with the same dark hair and tanned skin, but there was something off and Kakashi couldn't place it. From the way the body was curled up in Sloth's arms, Kakashi couldn't determine what they had done to him.

"Put Mother Hen on the floor," Birdman instructed, moving to stand in the middle of the room. Sloth grunted and let the limp frame drop uncaringly from his arms, Iruka collapsing heavily onto the carpeted ground with a pained moan. At least he was conscious, but Kakashi almost wished he wasn't. No amount of fighting back would help Iruka if he didn't have his chakra. Kakashi watched the poor man struggle to push himself up onto trembling arms, only for them to crumble beneath his weight, his small tanned fingers twitching sporadically.

Wait, small?

Kakashi narrowed his eye slightly and stared intently at those fingers. They weren't noticeably smaller, and he wasn't sure why he had noticed it at first, but they did look rather slim for a man. He had never paid much attention to the school teacher's hands before though, so it was completely possible that the man just had naturally small hands. But it wasn't the only thing that looked oddly out of place. All of Iruka's limbs looked rather slender, the muscles less pronounced underneath the bloodied bandages covering his arms and legs that the short white robe didn't cover. Yes, Iruka looked like a thin, well-built man, but not nearly that thin.

Iruka's fitful, drowsy struggling was enough for him to maneuver himself onto his back, his half-drugged, dilated eyes scanning the room. Kakashi quickly skimmed over that face party covered by loose dark hair. He glanced over the soft round face, the scarred slender nose, and the full pink lips before all of his attention focused on the round curve of Iruka's bandaged chest.

Everything suddenly clicked, and Kakashi snapped his eye shut.

He was a ninja. Everything he did was for the Hokage and for Konoha. If he didn't keep that thought at the front of his mind, he wouldn't survive this.

* * *

**Authors Note: ** _Alright, just a few notes on some of the things in the story. This actually got pretty lengthy…hm._

_First, I just want to thank everyone who read the first chapter! It made me very happy that some people enjoyed it! And to Meg, thank you for telling me about those grammar mistakes! It seems like "you're" and "your" are ones I tend to overlook when I edit over it. I did go back and change them though, so thank you for pointing them out. :D And as for the perspectives of the story, yeah, they can be pretty weird. I'm still trying to find the best way to do it. The way I write seems to be better told from only one person's point of view, so from what I planned, this story will be told alternatively from Kakashi and Iruka's POV. Although I just can't seem to get Kakashi right. Hmm._

_Writing this, I've realized how often the characters use profanities, which is odd since I don't curse myself. But they're bad guys, and I guess when I think of "villains", they curse…or something. I also realized how much of an emphasis this chapter was on the OC characters, which I don't personally like and it won't be something that happens often (in fact, those characters are only in a very small part of the overall plot of the story). I actually didn't really like this chapter, and it might be one I come back and edit again at some point in the future. It seems once Iruka isn't in the picture anymore, I lose inspiration. But the next and all chapters after will pretty much all be focused on Kakashi and Iruka. This chapter was sort of a transition chapter, which is why the OC's had so much emphasis I guess. (And how terrible are my OC names? Teeerrible. But I know I'd do even worse if I tried to come up with random Japanese names!)_

_Ah, something else. I think Kakashi is a great teacher (not perfect, but he has his own way of doing it and he isn't terrible), but I feel like Kakashi is the type of person to be extremely critical of himself when he thinks he's failed. Thus, he blames what happened with Team 7 solely on himself. _

_As for the situation our two heroes are stuck in, I know that it has a lot of flaws but I tried to make it as believable as possible. Even though Kakashi always says he would never abandon his comrades and that people who do are scum, what do you do in a situation like this? Save the lives of your comrades and jeopardize your mission or continue gathering vital information on a possible assassination attempt on your leader?_

_(By the way, how does the story look? I have such a hard time figuring out and I don't know how to do spacing or anything. I tried a new line thing to break up the sections instead of the old xxx-xxx I was using. Does it look alright or should I try something else? I'm just going to say, darn you FF, because I can't figure you out!)_


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